IPL 2025, Qualifier 2: ‘Captain incredible’ Shreyas Iyer steers Punjab Kings to ultimate | Cricket Information – Instances of India

TimesofIndia.com in Ahmedabad: Shashank Singh, in an unique interview with TimesofIndia.com, had given Shreyas Iyer a brand new moniker: Punjab Kings’ “captain incredible.” “He has his personal swag, he has his personal aura, and he backs his personal intuition,” Shashank, who had performed with Iyer in age-group cricket in Mumbai, needed to say about his IPL captain.On Sunday, in a rain-affected Qualifier 2, Shreyas Iyer displayed every thing that Shashank was speaking about. He did not have fun his half-century; he batted with surety, and it regarded like he was calculating the chase in his thoughts. Chasing 204, Iyer, who is known as ‘sarpanch’ (head of the village) by Punjab Kings followers, took cost. Within the thirteenth over bowled by Reece Topley, Shreyas hammered a hat-trick of sixes, every higher than the final one.Go Past The Boundary with our YouTube channel. SUBSCRIBE NOW!Iyer (87 not out off 41 balls; 5x4s, 8x6s) guided Punjab Kings to their first IPL ultimate in 11 years. Punjab Kings defeated Mumbai Indians by 5 wickets on the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad.Who’s that IPL participant?Punjab did get a flying begin from Priyansh Arya (20 off 10 balls) and No. 3 Josh Inglis (38 off 21 balls). Inglis, particularly, belted Bumrah for 20 runs in his first over. Not on a regular basis does Bumrah get that sort of remedy.However Iyer discovered an in a position associate in Nehal Wadhera, who is known as Ludhiana’s Yuvraj Singh. Wadhera scored a counter-attacking 29-ball 48 and solid an 84-run stand for the fourth wicket in simply 47 balls.

Shreyas Iyer etched his identify within the historical past books. He turned the primary IPL captain to take three totally different groups to the IPL finals. Iyer had led Delhi Capitals to the ultimate in 2020, guided Kolkata Knight Riders to the title in 2024, and now has steered Punjab Kings. He’s additionally the primary captain to guide two totally different groups in successive finals.To not neglect, Mumbai Indians had by no means misplaced defending 200-plus, and now they have been knocked out doing so with an over to spare.

Earlier, it regarded just like the Shreyas Iyer-led staff had misplaced its steam after ending high of the IPL factors desk. They had been blown away by a red-hot Royal Challengers Bengaluru in Qualifier 1 at Mullanpur, after which they gave away too many freebies in opposition to Mumbai Indians in Qualifier 2.On Tuesday, they are going to have an opportunity to take revenge for the humiliation they needed to face in entrance of their residence crowd.Shreyas Iyer gained the flip of the coin and, due to the climate, opted to discipline. The match was delayed for a few hours due to the rain, but it surely lastly began, and there was no discount in overs.Mumbai Indians rode on a power-packed begin from Jonny Bairstow and Tilak Varma, and a late flourish by Naman Dhir, to publish an imposing 203/6.Barring the primary over bowled by Arshdeep Singh, the Punjab outfit regarded fully at sea. They had been wayward with the ball and abysmal within the discipline. If this was not sufficient, PBKS had been later penalised for a sluggish over price, and an additional fielder was introduced into the circle for the final two overs.Rohit Sharma received a reprieve within the second over after Azmatullah Omarzai dropped a tricky likelihood. It was not a straightforward catch as he needed to back-pedal a protracted technique to attain it; he received each fingers to it however could not management it.The dropped catch did not value PBKS a lot, as Marcus Stoinis received the prized wicket and celebrated it by thumping his chest, which most likely was the one time Punjab gamers celebrated with jubilation.Bairstow wasted no time in unleashing his trademark aggression. He took the assault to the Punjab bowlers proper from the outset, peppering the boundary ropes and racing to 38 off simply 24 deliveries. Nonetheless, because the pitch started to grip and decelerate, PBKS managed to claw their means again. Vyshak Vijaykumar gave the breakthrough, eradicating Bairstow with a knuckle ball.The skilled duo of Tilak Varma and Suryakumar Yadav steadied the ship. Their 72-run partnership for the third wicket got here at a speedy tempo. Each batters regarded in management, mixing warning with aggression, earlier than Punjab struck at an important second — proper earlier than and after the second strategic timeout.

Yuzvendra Chahal, who was enjoying the match with an injection in his bowling hand, was despatched on a leather-based hunt by Suryakumar Yadav, however the veteran spinner gained the battle. Suryakumar saved enjoying the sweep shot in opposition to Chahal, however the leggie had the final snort. It was pushed within the air just a little; Suryakumar went down on his knee and slog-swept it, however did not get the elevation, and Nehal Wadhera caught it close to deep mid-wicket.In a sudden twist, each Suryakumar Yadav and Tilak Varma had been dismissed for equivalent scores of 44, halting MI’s momentum simply when it regarded like they’d surge previous 220.Naman Dhir’s late blitz supplied the ultimate flourish. The swashbuckling batter smashed a quickfire 37 off simply 18 balls, peppering the off-side and clearing the ropes to perfection. His knock ensured MI crossed the psychological 200-run mark.